Penang Malaysian Cuisine

Worst restaurant experience of my life. I visited Penang last night after hearing good reviews from a friend. The appetizers we ordered were based off of the server's recs and they were mediocre at best. But that's not the point of this review. The real focus is the fish. We ordered the Thai Chili Fish as one of our mains. As soon as the fish was put on our table the stench was nauseating. It was hot, rotten fish covered in red sauce. I immediately told the server and she removed it. Out came the "manager" from the kitchen. He said nothing is wrong with the fish but I can "subsidize" you with something else like a desert. We said no thanks. At this point everyone is sick from the smell of the fish. He brings us the check and the fish ($26) is on the bill. I told the server, we are not paying for fish that is inedible. So the manager comes back out. He has a cell phone in his hand and says "You call or I call". We are confused. Who is he calling? A fish monger to tell us the fish is edible? No, he says "911. You don't pay, I call 911". I said, please call and bring the rotten fish back out here. Of course, he didn't call. They brought us a new bill sans fish. Paid and left. Needless to say, the food was horrible and the management atrocious.

This is one of my less frequent Buford Highway haunts, but still a good one. It should be noted, though, that I only rate the food. I'm not into ambiance getting in the way of some good eats. As others have said, the service is poor (sometimes exceptionally so), and the decor of the place is campy at best (with an explosion of fake bamboo). Also mentioned by others, the food does have some occasional misses, but my experience is that it's more like 1 miss out of every 4 visits (although that may be 1 of 3 for trying new items). I've found most of the food to be very good, especially the twice cooked pork shank (which might be one of my top 5 dishes on Buford Highway). So brace yourself for the waiters when you go in (I once had one ask me, "You sure you don't want DIET Coke?"), and get ready to play a little food roulette, but for me the rewards are worth the risks.

I discovered this place about two months ago, and have been back several times, mostly for lunch. With only one exception, every dish I've had has been excellent. Don't miss the Beef Rendang!

Much of the menu is pretty spicy, but there are plenty of less fiery choices available. Besides the Malaysian cuisine, they also prepare Thai and some Chinese dishes, but the Malaysian food is the reason to eat there.

Service has always been prompt, helpful, and very friendly.

Link to This Review      Post on Facebook   Share on Twitter

have been 5 times each time is a crap shoot. the first time was amazing, second awful and so on.last night we decided to give it one more try. I still can't get the awful taste out of my mouth.service isn't good either. rude and slow....

We usually go to this plaza for a nearby vegetarian place, but decided to try Penang on an impulse, and I'm glad we did.

The atmosphere and lighting were very nice, especially on a hot Spring afternoon. For our appetizer, we ordered the Penang Satay, which is marinated chicken on skewers with a wonderful peanut sauce. We've been to quite a few Atlanta Thai restaurants, and I think this Satay beat them all quite handily.

J. ordered a rice dish, Nasi Lemak, which is coconut rice flavored with cloves & screwpine leaves, served with chili anchovy curry, chicken rendang, and fried egg, as well as pickled vegetables. He commented that the anchovy curry was very strong on the anchovies, and I could only take his word for it, since anything with anchovy on the menu is outside of my realm of edible cuisine, but the other items were quite tasty.

I went with one of the House Specials, Ayam Rendang, chicken cooked over low heat in a lemon grass and chili paste, and then simmered in thick rich coconut curry. This is a comfort food wonder, taking me back to the days of my grandmother's wondrous pot roasts on Sunday afternoons, and I was very happy with the dish as my clean plate testified to the waitress.

We closed with a coconut ice cream, creamy and rich, with real shaved coconut, and it cleansed out palates quite nicely.

I suspect we will definitely be back for more.

Link to This Review      Post on Facebook   Share on Twitter